Medicinal Chemistry News

(Left to right) Xuewei Wang, Ph.D., William L. Dewey, Ph.D., Shelli Fowler, Ph.D., VCU President Michael Rao, Ph.D., Marcie S. Wright, Ph.D., Yan Zhang, Ph.D. and Charlene D. Crawley, Ph.D. (Photo by Thomas Kojcsich, Enterprise Marketing and Communications)

42nd annual Faculty Convocation celebrates six VCU role models

Aug. 30, 2024

Honorees included faculty members from the Schools of Medicine, School of Pharmacy, College of Humanities and Sciences and the School of Public Health.

Six VCU faculty members will be honored at the 42nd annual Faculty Convocation on Aug. 29 at 3 p.m. at the W.E. Singleton Center for the Performing Arts. (File photo)

42nd annual Faculty Convocation will honor six VCU educators and researchers

Aug. 27, 2024

The annual ceremony, which will be held on Aug. 29, celebrates outstanding teaching, scholarship and service.

Twenty-one projects have been awarded funding from the 2024 VCU Quest Fund. (Enterprise Marketing and Communications)

VCU Quest Fund provides grants to 21 faculty-led projects that target society’s biggest challenges

July 17, 2024

Transdisciplinary research teams are pursuing advances in health, engineering, the environment, homeland security and more.

Now in its third year, the VCU Breakthroughs Fund has supported more than 30 projects through investments totaling nearly $6 million. (Enterprise Marketing and Communications)

VCU Breakthroughs Fund provides grants to 10 more faculty-led projects that pursue transformative innovation

July 2, 2024

Health, equity, sustainability and the human experience are the driving forces for transdisciplinary teams that target society’s grand challenges.

Postdoctoral fellow Maggie Freeberg, Ph.D. and Patricia Sime, M.D., chair of the Department of Internal Medicine at the School of Medicine, in their lab this spring. The pair are part of a multidisciplinary team studying treatment and a possible cure for fibrosis. (Photo by Jeff Kelley)

VCU researchers explore a promising pathway to treating fibrosis

June 18, 2024

Collaboration between schools of Medicine and Pharmacy focuses on what may be a cellular trigger for the organ-scarring diseases.

VCU ranked in nation’s Top 100 for university utility patents for second year

June 11, 2024

The National Academy of Inventors list recognizes campus commitment to research, innovation and entrepreneurship.

Ivelina Metcheva, Ph.D., assistant vice president for innovation at VCU TechTransfer and Ventures; Lauren Siff, M.D., representing the winning team SurgicalED VR; and Brent Fagg, assistant director for innovation at VCU TechTransfer and Ventures, at the VCU Startup Accelerator’s first Pitch Day competition. (VCU TechTransfer and Ventures)

Virtual-reality surgical trainer earns top spot in first Pitch Day event for VCU faculty entrepreneurs

May 29, 2024

Urogynecology team led by Lauren Siff is among the inaugural cohort of the Startup Accelerator, which propels campus innovation toward commercial markets.

Mohammed AlAwadh said his scientific journey at VCU “has been incredibly rewarding, and I’m profoundly grateful for it.” (Thomas Kojcsich, Enterprise Marketing and Communications)

Class of 2024: Mohammed AlAwadh delves into the intricacies of drug development

April 24, 2024

After graduation, he will return to Saudi Arabia as a professor, teaching others the techniques he has learned at VCU.

Youzhong Guo, Ph.D., an associate professor in the VCU School of Pharmacy, said “better research tools, such as CHEAPS, can help us understand the structure and active mechanisms of many human membrane proteins.” (File photo)

Chemical designed by pharmacy professor launches as tool for cholesterol research and future drug discovery

March 14, 2024

Youzhong Guo, Ph.D., and his team developed the chemical CHEAPS as part of ongoing research on membrane proteins as drug targets.

Martin K. Safo, Ph.D., (left) and Richard T. Marconi, Ph.D., are the latest VCU researchers honored as senior members by the National Academy of Inventors. (File photos)

National Academy of Inventors names two VCU faculty as senior members for their research into treating diseases

March 1, 2024

Richard T. Marconi of the School of Medicine is developing new innovations for testing and preventing Lyme disease, and Martin K. Safo of the School of Pharmacy is targeting sickle cell disease.